Bree focused on the van, eyeing it and the people inside. She recognized Lydecker. Even after all these years, he hadn't changed at all. Still the commando type that didn't jump in to things. But she knew if she ran, he'd attack. If she walked, they'd follow. She was at a loss here. The best she could do now was salvage any of the people around, make it as easy as possible.
She vaguely recognized Max's voice calling her, and she turned. She turned and raised her right hand, clenching it in a fist and holding it about shoulder level. Max saw this, and then suddenly knew.
Her eyes immediately flew across the street to the van, and from here Bree could sense her panic. Bree met her eyes, wishing her away. //Please Max. After all this don't get yourself caught up in Lydecker's net,// she pleaded. She signaled to her, moving her forefinger between her other hand and pulling it away, following the action with what seemed like one hand pulling away from the other.
~Escape and Evade.~ Max recognized the sign language.
Normal's phone rang then, interrupting the calm before the storm. Normal was bickering with whoever was on the other end, looking unhappy. Bree tuned in.
//Original Cindy.// Bree thought to herself. "Normal, you better gimme that phone before I render you unconscious!" She said with clenched teeth.
Normal, surprised at her sudden rough image, unclipped the set and handed it to her, retreating into the building and shaking his head. Sketchy followed.
She silently thanked god. At least they'd be safe for now. It couldn't be long now, before Lydecker noticed she had noticed. A couple minutes. Maybe.
"Cindy?" Bree asked in to the phone.
"Bree, damn girl, you an'Max bettah haul your asses outta there or you gonna be deep in some kinda shit, a'ight? Trust me on that one."
Bree saw Lydecker get out of the van and look across the street at her. They saw the fear and recognition register in each others eyes. He held up his radio then, and spoke in to it. She could hear it from where she stood.
"Ten-twelve Alpha team, ten-six Bravo and Charlie." He said calmly, staring across the street. A smile uplifted the corner of his lips.
"Original Cindy? I'm gonna say we're in that deep shit already."
"Don't worry Boo, hold on a few secs longer, back up is on its way."
Max made her way down the street to Bree's side, and stared across at Lydecker, who recognized her immediately.
"Gosh damn, someone managed to swing a reunion." A voice spoke up from behind the two girls. Max looked behind, falling from her defensive stance for a second.
"Jani!" Max smiled.
"Hey sis, how's life treatin' ya?" she asked, smiling.
"Kinda shitty." Max said, glancing across, then at Bree. "Jani, Bree. Bree, Jani. Bree's the X6 we're swinging this party for, so lets get one of three down and out so we can party quicker." Max commented, turning and swinging into position.
They covered each other's backs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Logan, I'm telling ya, we better get our asses over there an'help 'em out or they gonna be slaughtered. At least this way the got a fast getaway, right?"
"Just one second." Logan called from the other room, his voice rising a pitch.
"Logan?" Cindy called.
"What?"
"I'm takin'your car. Original Cindy don't got no license but she can drive, a'ight, Bye!" she grabbed the keys from the table as Logan called out something about his car, but she ignored it. How hard could it be to work this bitch?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was only two minutes in to their assault they knew they were going to be outnumbered. Even with the ave rage of four soldiers down or out each, more soldiers were quickly advancing, trapping them in among a barricade of unconscious, dead or retreating soldiers. As a group they moved away from the masses and backed slightly down the street. Lydecker across the street had a strained look on his face, watching how easily the girl's moved in to their old habits. It wouldn't be an easy fight.
"Is this a girl's only thing, or can I join?" Zack asked, landing from the above rooftop via only his feet.
Bree glanced at him, but he was watching the men approaching. The soldiers.
"Okay troops. This is what we were trained to do, so lets do it!" Jani exclaimed, dropping the defensive and moving offensive.
She took out the closest man with a fake to the stomach and a foot to the temple. Flipping backwards and landing on her feet, she switched and began on the next one.
Zack got a look on his face, and moved fast and ferociously, attacking the soldier in front of him with a dive and roll, then hit him in the face with an elbow. The guy was out like a light.
Bree moved up behind him, taking on the next soldier to give him a recovery. She attacked without much ferocity, but took out the two afterwards in a quick, efficient manner.
Max got lost in thought for the briefest of moments, watching Bree advance like that. She moved faster and more efficient than any one of the X5's she could remember. And she still was keeping calm, cool and collected. Following suite Max launched at series of kicks and distracting thrusts, moving down her own line of soldiers.
Bree could see soldiers ready to move in from almost every direction, a couple seemed to have gathered around something. //Someone.// Her mind suddenly screamed.
She used her powerful legs to jump over the head of a guard in front of her, ducked and rolled under the next. taking a moment to make use of the helpful position she shot a leg up. He fell cursing like there was no tomorrow. Which for him, was probably true.
She began on the crowd of three soldiers, in the process of taking someone down. At first she was convinced it was Max or Jani. But as she moved closer she saw it was a taller girl with long blonde hair that fell over her shoulders. Her nose was pressed hard to the ground and a taser pressed into her back. She was convulsing from the electricity. The wind shifted and although Bree didn't recognize her, there was a barcode on the back of her neck. She attacked wildly, losing her sense of calmness. No one messed with her family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Cindy sat in the driver's seat after flying down the stairs in Logan's building. She sat there, staring at the gearshifts. It was like nothing she'd really ever seen before. It struck her that this was because Logan had no use of his legs, and she rolled her eyes, just about ready to run off to Jam Pony when Logan rolled himself down the ramp, barreling across the sidewalk to the car.
"Move over." He told her.
"Gladly." She commented, pushing herself over the center seat and sinking in to the passenger seat. It surprised her at the speed Logan was able to get himself in. He closed the door, started the Aztec, shifted and slammed on the gas, burning rubber out in to the street.
"Uhh.." was all Cindy could say. He looked over at her.
"What?"
Original Cindy looked back, "Your chair-" she began.
"Will be there when I get back I'm sure. If not, the Cale fund won't refuse me the right to a new one."
"Won't you need it?"
"Thought you said all I was doing was driving." He commented. Original Cindy shut up, hoping this would be a quick in and out thing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A hard blow stunned Bree, stopping her for a moment in her tracks. The soldiers used that moment to overtake her, albeit temporarily. They moved in like locusts feeding, and Bree was quickly hit to the ground, a taser stinging her side. She dropped convulsing for a moment, then lay still. As soon as they lay their hands on her she used their awkwardness of the moment against them, pulling two of them down on the ground with her. Maybe not the smartest move, but the best. She jumped up and began a routine of kicking, punching and jabbing, feeling like she was back in Manticore being tested all over again.
She pushed it out of her mind. //This is for your life,// she told herself. She was going to win this one.
Max was suffering from a few minor blows, ducking, dodging where possible, and using mostly her fists, as opposed to Zack behind her who had taken hold of a gun and was going trigger happy. She sighed as one incredibly clumsy soldier almost tripped over his own gear, dropping his gun. She grabbed it.
"Too bad you did that, I don't like shooting people," she commented. The guy paused, feeling almost reassured he wasn't going to be killed. "Too bad for you I don't have a problem knocking people out with them." She continued, swinging the heavy FN P-90 across his temple. She threw it away then, remembering from training that it was the weapon of choice by Manticore personnel and assassins. "Low recoil and awesome sight system..." she muttered, moving towards another soldier.
But who needed guns when you were a genetically engineered soldier?
Syl removed herself from the ground, checking around for her savior. It was a girl, looked about nineteen or so, same age as Max, and she was fighting like a demon.
//Hello Bree,// she thought to herself, remembering the X6's name. The girl moved quicker than she'd ever seen. Efficiently and deliberately. But even Syl noticed her calmness chipping away, and the real soldier emerging. Her movements became quicker, with more force behind them. And that was a hell of a lot of force even by X5 standards.
She turned back to her own problems, and while she waited on the defensive for the soldier in front of her to attack she saw Lydecker standing across the street. Hate and fear surged through her at the site of their own personal Antichrist. The two didn't mix well. One quick punch and the guy in front of her was out like a light. She turned, surveying the area. There were men strewn about on the ground , littering the sidewalk, or stumbling away from the area. All in a matter of four minutes now. She jumped in to the action as squealing tires came fast around a nearby corner.
Logan fought to control the wheel, steering it over the curb and around the corner, shooting in to traffic. Beside him Original Cindy let out a surprised shriek and gripped the seats with her nails. She pointed, "I'm guessing that's them," she commented dryly, attempting to slow her breathing.
"Let's get 'em, and remind me never, to let you drive again after all this is through." Cindy commented. \par \par Logan leaned on the horn, blaring it down the street. As most people didn't have cars and the ones who did were pulled to the curb, enjoying the 'street entertainment', Logan pulled right up beside the group. In truth the area was relatively clear. Logan didn't even want to think about how Lydecker had achieved that. He surveyed the five of them fighting in the midst of strewn soldiers, looking like toys.
He leaned on the horn again, and lo oked out the window beside him to see Lydecker, standing there trying to look past his car. His gaze then went inside the car. Recognition was written across his face, but he stood there, still for a moment. Logan leaned on the horn, drawing everyone's attention.
"Cavalry's here!" Syl yelled loudly enough for everyone to hear. As if an automatic reaction, it seemed like anyone who was fighting at that moment gave one last hit and retreated, literally piling into Logan's Aztec.
Max was about to get in whe n she realized they were missing a head. She turned and noticed Bree, who had suddenly lost her calmness about the fight. She was fighting away with a soldier although he was down and out. She kept hitting him like he were the source of every one of her problems, although blood dripped profusely from his nose and burst lip.
Max took a step back, "Bree!" she yelled. There was no pause in the girl's movements. "Dammit." she swore, "Bree!" she screamed. The girl finally paused and looked up. Bree finally sn apped out of it, looking down at the fallen soldier who was laying still on the ground, then at her blood-covered fists.
A glint caught Max's vision, and she didn't even have to turn before she knew what it was. Lydecker holding a gun.
Max could see him out of her peripheral, and ducked behind the car although she knew it wasn't aimed for her. All she could do was watch a red feathered dart fly in to Bree's shoulder, and the young girl, her sister, collapse on the pavement after a few brief seconds.
Some one scrambled out of the car behind her. Zack. She followed, grabbing Bree by the ankles and hauling her as Zack passed her on to Syl whom was sitting in the far corner on the seat. She grabbed the girl, quickly but carefully, and tried to hold her on her lap although she was limp as a ragdoll. Max and Zack climbed in the back seat as Jani climbed in to the back hatch area. The door slammed shut on it's own as Logan stepped on the gas, hitting two soldiers in front of his car. A hail of bullets slammed the Aztec, and everyone ducked until it was over.
Silence filled the crammed car as it sped down the streets.
"Take us home Logan." Max muttered from the back. "This girl wants one long, long shower and a heap full of food when she gets out of it."
For some reason, everyone in the car, or everyone who was conscious anyways, began to crack up at Max's sarcastic remark.
"Max, remind me never to let you plan these reunions, a'ight?" Jani asked from the back.
They laughed harder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Deck, exactly how many teams did you have out there today, for one girl?" Renfro demanded in her cool tone.
"Four." Lydecker replied from his leather chair.
"Four teams," she said, turning to stare at him. "Four teams for one girl, I thought you said this would be in and out."
"I wasn't planning on her having back up."
"Yes, yes about that backup. It wasn't just one was it, not just X5-452, it was more of them than that, right?"
"Yes," he sighed.
"Yes." She said it simply enough then slammed the file folder on his desk, "Yes, because there was one big fucking whole reunion out there on the streets this morning, wasn't there? And even with Four teams, you couldn't take them down, Deck. Four teams." she said wistfully, then smiled. "Still," she mused, "Four X5's and one X6 against four of our very best teams. You realize what this proves don't you?"
He didn't reply, instead just stared.
"It means, Deck, that these kids, can be better than we ever expected. I'd say escaping made them stronger, wouldn't you?"
He stayed quiet, instead of replying. She would try and twist whatever he said anyhow.
"It also means, Deck, that they know we're after X6-544. Which means, they will be hanging around here, playing bodyguard for her. Which means, if we find her, we find them." His eyes almost lit up then.
"I take it you'll be agreeing to my terms then," she said in a voice sweeter than honey. (And more sickly than molasses.)
"What terms?" Lydecker demanded, "These are my children-"
"Not your children, Deck. Manticore's children. Which means everyone gets to play, it's just a matter of who wins."
He just glared at her.
"Good then. X5-
The X5, formerly known as Brin, entered the room, standing at attention. "Yes Ma'am?" she asked.
"You will be working with Donald here, I want you to find those kids, find a time they're all there, and let me know."
"Yes ma'am."
She turned to Lydecker, "Play nice now, Donald." Then she left the room, her overpowering scent filling the emptiness she left behind. The door closed behind her and Lydecker found himself staring at X5-734. Brin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
